Here we are comparing two cameras with different body types: Olympus E-M1 II is a Pro Mirrorless camera with a 20.0MP Four Thirds sensor whereas Pentax K-1 is a Semi-Pro DSLR camera with a 36.0MP Full frame sensor. Despite some fundamental differences of these two body types, Mirrorless cameras are becoming serious altenatives to DSLR cameras thanks to their size/weight advantages and recent improvements in their focus speeds , which makes this comparison even more interesting. Fortunately, you can't go wrong with any of these cameras as we rank them amongst Top 10 cameras in their classes. Olympus E-M1 II is ranked #9 out of 30 Pro Mirrorless cameras with an overall score of 89 whereas Pentax K-1 is ranked #3 out of 89 Semi-Pro DSLR cameras with an overall score of 92.

Let's have a brief look at the main features of Olympus E-M1 II and Pentax K-1 before getting into our more detailed comparison.

Below you can see the front view size comparison of Olympus E-M1 II and Pentax K-1. Olympus E-M1 II is clearly the smaller of the two cameras. Its body is 3mm narrower, 19mm shorter and 19mm thinner than Pentax K-1.

Now lets look at the top view comparison of Olympus E-M1 II and Pentax K-1.

Weight is another important factor especially when deciding on a camera that you want to carry with you all day.
Olympus E-M1 II is significantly lighter (436g ) than the Pentax K-1 which may become a big advantage especially on long walking trips.

Also keep in mind that body weight is not the only deciding factor when comparing two interchangeable camera bodies, you have to also take into account the lenses that you will be using with these bodies. Since Pentax K-1 has a Full frame sensor and Olympus E-M1 II has a smaller Four Thirds sensor, Olympus E-M1 II's lenses for a similar focal length and aperture will generally be lighter and smaller than the Pentax K-1 lenses.

Weight Comparison

DSLR Cameras

E-M1 II

K-1

Min

Average

Max

Thickness Comparison

DSLR Cameras

E-M1 II

K-1

Min

Average

Max

Olympus E-M1 II vs Pentax K-1: Sensor Comparison

Olympus E-M1 II has a 20.0MP Four Thirds (17.4 x 13 mm ) sized CMOS sensor and features TruePic VIII processor. On the other hand, Pentax K-1 has a 36.0MP Full frame (35.9 x 24 mm ) sized CMOS sensor . Pentax K-1's sensor provides 16MP more than Olympus E-M1 II's sensor, which gives a significant advantage in real life. You can print your images larger or crop more freely.
On the other hand, please keep in mind that Max sensor resolution is not the only determinant of resolving power. Factors such as the optical elements, low pass filter, pixel size and sensor technology also affects the final resolution of the captured image.

Another difference between these two cameras is that Pentax K-1's sensor lacks anti-alias (Low-Pass) filter. Removing anti-alias filter increases the sharpness and level of detail but at the same time, it increases the chance of moire occurring in certain scenes.

Below you can see the E-M1 II and K-1 sensor size comparison.

As seen above, Pentax K-1 has a 3.8x Larger sensor area than Olympus E-M1 II. Larger sensors give photographer more control on the depth of field and blurry background compared to smaller sensor when shot in same focal length and aperture.

What types of Photography are Olympus E-M1 II and Pentax K-1 Good for?

In this section, we rank and compare Olympus E-M1 II and Pentax K-1 for five different photography types in order to make your decision process easier in case you are specifically interested in one or more of these areas.

Number of available lenses is a big decision factor while choosing your interchangeable lens camera. When we look at the available lenses for these two cameras, we see that Pentax K-1 has an advantage over Olympus E-M1 II There are 144 lenses for Pentax K-1's Pentax KAF2 mount, on the other hand there are only 92 lenses for Olympus E-M1 II's Micro Four Thirds lens mount.

Another important factor is the availability of image stabilization. Both Olympus E-M1 II and Pentax K-1 has Sensor based Image stabilization which means that all the lenses will be stabilized in these bodies.

You may have already made your decision about which camera suits better for your needs and your budget so far but in case you wonder how we rated Olympus E-M1 II and Pentax K-1, below you can find their scores in five different aspects.
Our Decision Algorithm dynamically scores cameras using 63 different specs, current price and DxO Mark scores (where possible) in order to make a more objective and consistent comparison.

Here is a summary of how Olympus E-M1 II and Pentax K-1 scores compare:

Olympus E-M1 II

Imaging

Features

Value

Portability

Overall

Ranked #6 out of 49 in SLR-style mirrorless camerasRanked #15 out of 1131 in all Cameras

Pentax K-1

Imaging

Features

Value

Portability

Overall

Ranked #4 out of 92 in Mid-size SLR camerasRanked #7 out of 1131 in all Cameras

Pentax K-1 scores higher than the Olympus E-M1 II in Overall. It has better image quality and better value than Olympus E-M1 II. On the other hand, Olympus E-M1 II is more portable and has more features than Pentax K-1. If image quality is very important for you and you want to get the most bang for your bucks, choose the Pentax K-1. If you are looking for a small camera where you can take everywhere with you, and having more features are also important, Olympus E-M1 II is the right choice for you.